RotoWire News: Manager Pete Mackanin said Eickhoff's (hand) MRI came back "pretty clean," but the team decided to shut him down for the season anyway, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (9/3/2017)

Profile: Jerad Eickhoff was never a standout prospect, who had no true plus pitches and only decent command. However, he dazzled in his first eight career starts, fueled by an underrated slider that, according to PITCHf/x, induced the highest rate of whiffs per swing among any slider (minimum 100 pitches) in 2015. Unfortunately, Eickhoff's previous track record of middling strikeout and walk rates points to regression. The elevated fly ball rate also bodes poorly for his ERA, given he calls home one of MLB's home-runniest ballparks the last three years (per ESPN Park Factors). Even if plate discipline regression never arrives -- and it very well may not -- this author is still concerned about those darn fly balls and a hard-hit rate that ranked among the worst 5% (well, 5.2%) of starting pitchers who threw at least 50 innings last year. The good news is if early draft results are any indication, Eickhoff will be dirt cheap in March. That makes him a low-risk bet to repeat his debut -- especially if he ramps up his slider usage -- during which he posted a 3.25 FIP, good for 27th among all starters. The bad news is Eickhoff reminds this author a lot of Matt Shoemaker, whose uninspiring fastball and fly ball tendencies led to a painfully home run-plagued sophomore slump. Indeed, Shoemaker, after his impressive 2014 season, inspired many sleeper predictions himself. Regardless, Eickhoff's low price makes for a justifiable investment in all but NL-only leagues, where one should tread more lightly. (Alex Chamberlain)

The Quick Opinion: Jerad Eickhoff could ride his filthy slider en route to replicating his impressive 2015 debut, but the lethal intersection of hard hits and fly balls may lead to his fantasy demise. Eickhoff's late-round upside, however, makes him a nice low-risk speculative play in all formats.

Profile: When Eickhoff started throwing his curve more than his slider late in the season, everything started to come together. That's when more people started swinging at his curve and popping up his sinker, four-seam, and both breaking balls. Between a 50% ground ball rate on his sinker, a plus pop-up rate on his four-seam, and plus whiff rates on the breaking balls, he's got the arsenal that he needs to at least be above average. The big home run rates on his slider, sinker, and changeup are the problem, or at least they were last year. Seen in the context of his career, moving from the slider (lots of homers) to the curves (fewer) is a good move. But throwing more sinkers (more homers) is not necessarily a good move. If he settles in on four-seamers, curves, and sliders as the third option, he'll actually be the best pitcher he can be. That should be a two or three in any league, with good strikeout rates. (Eno Sarris)

The Quick Opinion: In August, Eickhoff started throwing more curves than sliders. Since then, he's a mid-threes ERA pitcher with nearly a strikeout per inning. With better home run rates in his future, there could be something more sexy coming.